CNN Poll: Trump tied for first in GOP horserace  —  Washington (CNN) - Donald Trump is now tied with Mike Huckabee for first place when Republicans are asked who they support for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, according to a new national poll.  —  But while a CNN/Opinion Research …

Budget Cutting Ain't Easy  —  Composition of cuts in budget agreement shows the difficulties of reducing spending for the White House and Congress.  —  President Obama and congressional leaders needed some clever accounting to come up with nearly $40 billion in budget cuts.

Obama turns to his bipartisan deficit commission's blueprint for reducing debt  —  Video: White House press secretary Jay Carney reiterated Monday that President Obama “regrets” his vote in 2006 as a senator against raising the debt ceiling.  (April 11)  —  President Obama plans this week …

AOL, Arianna Huffington Hit with Class Action Suit  —  Jonathan Tasini.  Image via Wikipedia  —  Huffington Post bloggers who think they ought to get paid for their volunteer writing have been litigating their case in the court of public opinion.  Now they're taking it to a real one.

Bad news for Congressional Republicans  —  PPP's newest national poll finds that after a little more than 3 months in charge House Republicans have fallen so far out of favor with the American public that it's entirely possible Democrats could take control of the House back next year.

Republicans and the Civil War  —  Given the demographics of the GOP, as well as its regional base, this isn't particularly surprising: … From voters to elected officials, the Republican Party is dominated by white Southerners, particularly those from the Deep South.

Nick Ayers: The Big News You Might Not Have Noticed  —  I have done my best to ignore Tim Pawlenty.  He has never struck me as the most exciting politician.  His global warming position made me squeamish.  He's always had an okay record as Governor, but around the edges he struck me as not really a movement conservative.

There Is No Male-Female Wage Gap  —  A study of single, childless urban workers between the ages of 22 and 30 found that women earned 8% more than men.  —  Tuesday is Equal Pay Day—so dubbed by the National Committee for Pay Equity, which represents feminist groups including the National Organization …

France and Britain Urge Stronger NATO Action in Libya  —  PARIS —France and Britain urged NATO on Tuesday to intensify airstrikes against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's forces and called on the alliance to do more to shield noncombatants from loyalist attacks.  —  The remarks could well embolden rebels …

Why Not A Public Option for Medicare?  —  So, people are always asking what I would do about health care costs.  One answer is that I would do all the things that are in the Affordable Care Act, and more.  —  But if you want a really radical proposal — but one that, unlike privatization …

Japan rates nuclear crisis at highest severity level  —  TOKYO — Japanese authorities raised Tuesday their rating of the severity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis to the highest level on an international scale, equal to that of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Barack Obama faces problem on left, not right  —  I don't think Barack Obama will have a hard time defeating his Republican opponent in 2012, barring a financial meltdown or a major foreign crisis.  It's a Democratic opponent he should worry about.  —  Obama continues to anger progressives …

Poll: GOP's Abandoned Policy Riders Were Terribly Unpopular  —  CNN asks voters* what they think of the policy riders Republicans were going to the mat over.  Surprise: None of them have majority support.  In descending order of unpopularity:  —  The discretionary spending fight is supposed to be the easy one, and so it is.

UN document would give ‘Mother Earth’ same rights as humans  —  PHOTOS ( 1 )  —  Bolivia is planning to table a draft United Nations treaty giving “Mother Earth” the same rights as humans.  —  UNITED NATIONS — Bolivia will this month table a draft United Nations treaty giving “Mother Earth” …

PUMPED UP?  —  The U.S. economy has finally started to create jobs at a reasonable clip.  Inflation is still low.  Corporate profits are healthy, and surveys of business conditions suggest that the recovery is, as the Federal Reserve recently put it, “on a firmer footing.”  So are happy days here again?